I've been enjoying the Venturas and now have three - A Sparc RX, Black Delta, and a Sigma. They're great watches and I'm learning to use the scroll feature quite easily. I've been reading reviews about the Futura and love the look.

Is it still a problem watch? I'm told it will sync well in the US and in fact have a Junghans clock in a remote area in Washington State that syncs fine with the Colorado station. The location is so remote that no cell phone service is available.

I bought it mainly for the asymmetric styling and large display rather than the radio control functionality but over time I've warmed to the fact that I can always trust that it's dead on accurate. I live in the US (midwest) and I haven't had any issues with it synchronizing. It takes a little while - each morning at 2am it spends a few minutes synching during which time (< 5 mins) the display is blank. I've found that I like having a watch that I can use to synchronize my other watches to. I don't think distance is a factor in synching but I don't know how well it would cope with intervening terrain (mountains). I'm guessing that the signal bounces off the ionosphere so that probably doesn't matter either.

Mine hasn't been a problem watch in any way. There are a few quirks with the design. It does not display leading zeros on the minutes which is different than what you're used to (kind of unique and you get used to it). To set the date, you need to set current week number, which is a bit unusual and awkward, however, you only need to do that once. It also lets you adjust the contrast of the display, which is kind of nice. The back light is a nice cool blue color and is just the right brightness, so that's another functional nicety.

The display is hyper-readable - large digits and very contrasty. I also like the asymmetric design. I have the model with a positive (grey background) LCD over a stainless steel case and bracelet, which I think looks quite nice. It's a bit smaller than the Venturas (I have a Spark Rx) too but not too small, so it's quite wearable. I'm glad that the crystal is sapphire since it goes right to the edge of the case - it should be durable enough (although I don't abuse watches so I can't really say). It's mostly brushed (which I like) with just a few polished areas. Thankfully, there are no printed words or branding (other than the Junghans name) on the display or the case so the design is kept nicely minimalist. I can't really think of any reason not to recommend it. It's a little boxy and perhaps not quite as futuristic or sexy as a Ventura Sigma, but it's a very nice watch that nicely balances features, style and usability.

Update on my latest purchase: The Futura in S/S with black leather strap from Dh24.de. It won't sync in Seattle. This weekend I will be in Eastern Washington where I'm at a higher altitude and will try it there. I love the look and feel of the watch on my wrist. AM radio frequency is hard to sync at lower altitudes I think.

You may know all this already, but in case not: at night place watch near a window, away from phones and other electronics, face up with base of watch facing east (toward Colorado transmitter). You can also program it so it only looks for US frequency (see manual). Mine synchs fine in Brooklyn NY, which is way outside the radio zone and a terrible reception environment.

Update. I programed the watch to 6 which is US only but the screen goes blank so after a few minutes I pushed the mode button to get the time back and now it shows EU. Should I just place it in the East window with the blank screen?Thanks,Jim

jimster wrote:Update. I programed the watch to 6 which is US only but the screen goes blank so after a few minutes I pushed the mode button to get the time back and now it shows EU. Should I just place it in the East window with the blank screen?Thanks,Jim

My maybe imperfect recollection is that setting for US-only synching activates that mode for the regular early-morning synch, and that force-synching sets it back to scanning for all the different transmitters. If that's right then set it to US only, let it do its thing - the blank screen means it's trying to synch, and it will cycle back to showing the time after a few minutes - and then put it near a window, etc., for the early-morning connection.

Update,I never could get it to Sync in Seattle so I sent it to Atlantic Time Techs in New Jersey who is the Junghans service center.I never heard a work and the work appears via UPS in two weeks. It's keeping perfect time. In fact now I can compare the time with my latest purchase -- a Seiko SDGA003. I can across it on eBay UK with a title that really didn't describe the watch.The price was right and the condition as new. All boxes and books came with it. The watch is simply amazing. I reset with home time from London to Los Angeles and the watch resynced the moment I entered Los Angeles.Here are the two radio controlled:

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This thread just reminded me that I haven't been wearing the Futura for ages. Battery is empty. As are the batteries of at least 20 more watches. I have been neglecting my watch collection. Will have to make a battery order list and get them running again - before the batteries leak.